Living in a World of Dangers and Strangers: Changing EU and German Perceptions of Threat

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 73-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary N. Hampton
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Culture Change ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Traditional Conception ◽  
Half Century ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Tremendous Impact ◽  
The Eu

This article analyzes the differences in U.S., EU, and German perceptions of threat. The secularist and cosmopolitan turns in EU European identity formation have had a tremendous impact on how security issues are interpreted, especially in Germany. The traditional conception of threat has been re-defined. Yet, recent events are threatening the success forged through a half century of EU elite-driven culture change. Renationalization and a return to defining threat as fear of strangers have emerged across the EU.

scholarly journals European and National Identities in the Context of Neofunctionalism and “Imagined Communities” Theories

2021 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-98
Author(s):  
Elena Viktorova ◽  
◽  
Daria Petrenko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
National Identities ◽  
Imagined Communities ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Eu

The article contains an analysis of the state of European and national identities of modern Europeans. The notion of identities is multi-dimensional and includes many elements. In the scientific discourse the process of the European identity formation is increasingly being considered as a part of the European integration process. Currently the elements of European identity are seen by Europeans as elements of their national, local and other identities. The examples of the Netherlands and Belgium considered in the article confirm this statement. Some researchers believe that the European identity is artificially constructed by political elites. These principles are defined in more details in the theories of neo-functionalism by Deutsch and Haas and the "Imagined Communities" by Anderson. The article considers both theories, as well as examples confirming these ideas. The main methods used in the study were the analysis of scientific literature and European legislation concerning the formation of European identity, and the analysis of statistical data from the Eurobarometer and the European Social Survey in 2016 and 2018. The results of the research confirm the fact that for most Europeans national identity is primary, however they also identify themselves as Europeans. In addition, residents of the EU countries sense a higher level of European identity than the residents of countries outside the EU. The lowest level of European identity is observed among citizens of Russia and Serbia. The results of the research contribute to an evaluation of the success of the political project for the European identity formation.

scholarly journals Introduction: Life Writing and European Identities

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1049-1066
Author(s):  
Marijke Huisman ◽  
Marleen Rensen
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Life Writing ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Turn Of The Millennium ◽  
Art Exhibition ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Founding Fathers ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Eu

Since the turn of the millennium, life writing has been a burgeoning field, with identity formation as one of its key themes. In terms of identity ‘Europe’ is still relatively understudied, despite the fact that biographies and autobiographies have long been used to constitute or foster European identities, as is the case, for example, with respect to the so-called ‘founding fathers’ of the EU. Life writing bears at least as much potential to challenge such master narratives of Europe and make an important contribution to the ongoing debate about European identity. This special issue on life writing and European identity illustrates this, in articles ranging from Ai Weiwei’s art exhibition #SafePassage (2016) and the (contested) dichotomy of Western and Eastern European modernity in Vesna Goldsworthy’s memoir Chernobyl Strawberries (2005), to life in post-war Norway in Karl Ove Knausgard’s bestselling novel cycle Min Kamp (2009–2011) and the meta-biographical work of novelist A.S. Byatt.

scholarly journals Understanding the process of creation of European identity – the role of Cohesion Policy. A review.

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 51-70
Author(s):  
Vicente Royuela Mora ◽  
Enrique López-Bazo
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Cohesion Policy ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Comprehensive Survey ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Programming Period ◽  
The Eu

This paper reviews the theoretical arguments provided by the extant literature for understanding the process of creation of a European identity. We discuss the grounds of mechanisms and determinants driving citizens’ identification with Europe, stressing the role of the territorial dimension on European identity formation. More precisely, our focus is on the literature that have considered the link between European identity and EU policies that influence the citizens’ socio-economic conditions, in general, and Cohesion Policy in particular. This is a major policy within the EU that accounted for some 350 billion euros in the 2007-2013 programming period, about a third of total EU budget. Consequently, it is expected to determine the way citizens identify with the European project, both in the regions more and less benefited by the policy. The study also considers arguments supporting a sort of urban-rural divide in European identity, which could interact with the influence of the Cohesion Policy. Initial descriptive evidence on these links is provided based on results from a comprehensive survey for 15 EU member states.

The European identity formation in Ukraine

2017 ◽  
pp. 102-109
Author(s):  
Larysa Kovryk-Tokar
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
European Integration ◽  
European Community ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Political Integration ◽  
European Identity ◽  
European Values

Every nation is quite diverse in terms of his historical destiny, spiritual priorities, and cultural heritage. However, voluntary European integration, which is the final aim of political integration that began in the second half of the twentieth century from Western Europe, provided for an availability of large number of characteristics in common in political cultures of their societies. Therefore, Ukraine needs to find some common determinants that can create inextricable relationship between the European Community and Ukraine. Although Ukrainian culture is an intercultural weave of two East macrocivilizations, according to the author, Ukraine tends to Western-style society with its openness, democracy, tolerance, which constitute the basic values of Europeans. Keywords: Identity, collective identity, European values, European integration

An Ever Further Apart Union? National and European Attachments in the European Union

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracey Raney
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Active Role ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Identities ◽  
Political Identification ◽  
The Eu

This paper is about the ways that citizens perceive their place in the political world around them, through their political identities. Using a combination of comparative and quantitative methodologies, the study traces the pattern of citizens’ political identifications in the European Union and Canada between 1981 and 2003 and explains the mechanisms that shape these political identifications. The results of the paper show that in the EU and Canada identity formation is a process that involves the participation of both individuals and political institutions yet between the two, individuals play a greater role in identity construction than do political institutions. The paper argues that the main agents of political identification in the EU and Canada are citizens themselves: individuals choose their own political identifications, rather than acquiring identities that are pre-determined by historical or cultural precedence. The paper makes the case that this phenomenon is characteristic of a rise of ‘civic’ identities in the EU and Canada. In the European Union, this overarching ‘civic’ identity is in its infancy compared to Canada, yet, both reveal a new form of political identification when compared to the historical and enduring forms of cultural identities firmly entrenched in Europe. The rise of civic identities in both the EU and Canada is attributed to the active role that citizens play in their own identity constructions as they base their identifications on rational assessments of how well political institutions function, and whether their memberships in the community will benefit them, rather than on emotional factors rooted in religion or race. In the absence of strongly held emotional identifications, in the EU and Canada political institutions play a passive role in identity construction by making the community appear more entitative to its citizens. These findings offer new theoretical scope to the concept of civic communities and the political identities that underpin them. The most important finding presented in the paper is that although civic communities and identities are manufactured by institutions and political elites (politicians and bureaucrats), they require thinking citizens, not feeling ones, to be sustained.   Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v2i4.179

National and European Identity Formation: A Longitudinal Cross-National Comparison Study

Identity ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Philipp Jugert ◽  
Jan Šerek ◽  
Katharina Eckstein ◽  
Peter Noack
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Comparison Study ◽  
National Comparison ◽  
Cross National

Lost in uncertainty: How the Euro crisis affected European identity constructions in national media discourses

2018 ◽  
Vol 81 (6-8) ◽  
pp. 602-622
Author(s):  
Dennis Lichtenstein ◽  
Christiane Eilders
Keyword(s):  
Financial Stability ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Market Regulation ◽  
Euro Crisis ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Identity Constructions ◽  
Weekly Newspapers ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Media Discourses ◽  
The Eu

The Euro crisis has revealed severe conflicts between EU member states and challenged a shared European identity. This article investigates how the crisis was reflected in identity constructions in media discourses in EU key countries. European identity construction is conceptualized as framing of the EU in favour or against belonging to the EU and togetherness with other members. Conducting a systematic content analysis of two weekly newspapers and magazines in Germany, France and the UK, we compare identity constructions between 2011 and 2014. Findings show that while support of belonging to the EU is low in general, the countries differ remarkably in terms of their sense of togetherness. This particularly applies to strong or weak political integration, market regulation or market freedom and financial stability or impulses for economic growth. The positions reflect long-term political conflicts between the countries but are also flexible enough to adapt to the particular event context.

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION CRISIS ON EUROPE’S CULTURAL CONDITIONS: WHY ARE THE POLES ‘APPREHENSIVE’ ABOUT MUSLIMS?

2020 ◽  
pp. 313-335
Author(s):  
Anna М. Solarz
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Cultural Condition ◽  
The Political ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Cultural Conditions ◽  
The World ◽  
Science Of Religion ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

The 2015 immigration crisis revealed the weak cultural condition Europe finds itself in, given the adoption by a majority of states of a model for development that deliberately severs ties with common civilisational roots. However, while Poles do not really nurture prejudices against either Islam or immigrants, a decided majority of them voiced their unwillingness to accept new (mainly Muslim) arrivals, in the context of a solution to the above crisis the EU was intending to impose. A change of policy was thus forced upon the Union by Poland and other CEECs, given the latter’s strong guiding conviction that pursuit of a multicultural ideology leads to a weakening – rather than any improvement – in the condition of culture in Europe, and hence to a sapping of the continent’s power in the international relations sphere. As the crisis has made clear, the EU will probably have to start taking more account of preferences in this part of Europe. This means opportunities for the political science of religion to research the likelihood of a return to the Christian component of European identity, as well as the role this might play in improving the cultural condition of this part of the world.

scholarly journals Salomi Boukala. “European identity and the representation of Islam in the mainstream press: Argumentation and media discourse”

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitris Serafis
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Media Discourse ◽  
Media Communication ◽  
Political Sciences ◽  
Cultural Political Economy ◽  
Ideological Background ◽  
Mainstream Press ◽  
The Eu

In her book European identity and the representation of Islam in the mainstream press: Argumentation and media discourse, Salomi Boukala offers us a thoroughly interdisciplinary and extremely timely scrutiny of print media communication in times of profound crises in Europe. Boukala interweaves Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Argumentation theory, employing also notions and principles coming from the fields of Political Sciences, Anthropology, (Cultural) Political Economy. In particular, the author examines how “specific [European] newspapers with opposite ideological background […] construct the European supranational identity via references to the EU and the representation of Islam as a common, European ‘Other’” (p. 7).

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